D Pearson -v- LloydsTSB

[rdpearsonuk]

Dear all

 

Just thought I would mention that I have today sent my first letter requesting the return of bank charges dating back 4 years.

 

I tried to email [email protected] with PDF versions of my letter and schedule of charges. I got a reply saying they could not accept PDF files as they could not read them - a company the size of LloydsTSB cannot read PDF when Acrobat Reader is FREE. Anyway I relented to that hurdle and send it all by recorded mail today.

 

just so people are aware I have a definitive address to which these these type of letters should go:

 

Lloyds TSB

125 Colmore Row

Birmingham

B3 3SF

So now I will wait for their generic response and then send my letter before action (I will give them 14 days of course).

So with any luck and a bit of struggling I should be getting back charghes to the tune of £2400 some time next year!

I will keep you all posted.

Regards

David Pearson

[sweetpants]

good luck David

 

 

Sweetpants

[swilliams]

good luck david, dont struggle, this site and its helpers/info is amazing, im up to sending my N1 court form, and iv'e done it all with the help of this sites info/ people. very un-nerving but we have to stick together to make them realise how unfair their charges are.

s.williams

[rdpearsonuk]

Okay so my first approach for repayment went to the bank recorded delivery. I then checked a few days later and got the POD from the Royal Mail web site - just in case.

 

I received a "lovely" letter back a few days later telling me that they would be looking into my complaint (aren't they nice) and they also sent me the leaflet on complaining to the Banking Ombusmen. They did say in the letter that they hoped to get back to me witha response in the next two weeks. So my first question today is do I stick to my own deadline (tomorrow 7th November) or wait until their own deadline has passed? If they don't respond when they say they will then that will make them look worse won't it?

 

Secondly. I have been making preparation for the innevitable "fight" with the bank. I downloaded a sample court bundle from this site and in the contents it details that statements should be in there. I never bothered to get my statements from the bank as I have on-line banking and downloaded all the transactions since 2002 from there. Do I simply put my own statements file in the court pack (if it comes to that -which it will)?

 

Any quick reponse to the first question would be appreciated.

 

By for now

 

David

[enigmaworld]

Hi David

Re your first question, stick to your deadlines, any response from the bank will only be a standard one trying to put you off taking action.

 

Don't worry to much about getting your bundle together just yet, plenty of time to print off your statments, unfortunitely the courts are snowed under with work and are taking months, but don't be to disappointed nobody has lost a case when claiming back unlawful charges.

 

Regards

 

James

[rdpearsonuk]

Thanks for you swift advice.

 

Cheers

 

David

[rdpearsonuk]

Hi everyone,

 

Well I have receieved the expected letter now from Lloyds telling me they won't refund me and if I want to continue my complaint I should contact the banking ombusmen.

 

An interesting paragrapgh in the letter was this one below:

 

"You've mentioned the new guidelines from the Office of Fair trading on credit card default charges. We don't agree with the OFT's thinking on this and we're still talking it through with them. But the important point is that the guidelines only concern 'default' charges. The fees we charge are for going over an overdraft limit and for returned payments are not any king of default penalty. They are fixed standard prices for the service we provide in these situations."

Now I have read the letter I sent them again and the paragragh I think she is refering to in my letter is the following:

 

"Additionally, it has now been confirmed that your particularly high level of penalties are considered to be unfair per se by the OFT who reported on the 5th April 2006 and are therefore presumed to be unlawful in the absence of specific proof to the contrary."

So I am a bit baffled now because this paragraph is from the template on this site and I am sure that any template allowed on this site would not have incorrect information in it. Also my paragrapgh makes no mention of the 'default penalties' nor does it refer to credit card charges - my claim is for bank account charges not credit cards.

I am asuming that this woman has a standard letter that she get's someone else to pp sign for her. In that case does that not refelct badly on them for replying to my letter with information not pertinant to my claim?

I am about to send my LBA now and I am considering mentioning this point - however I don't want it to turn into an "I said you said" situation.

Any advice people?

Regards

David

[rdpearsonuk]

Okay - I'm back

 

I have just spent a while searching the OFT web site to find the report refered to in the 'Preliminary Approach for Payment' letter template in the templates section on this web site. The only publication in April 2006 is about unfair default charges on credit cards. Now I realise that the principple is that same but I have now given my bank a small stick to beat me with by using this as a reference - since it does not strictly apply to current accounts.

 

Just a thought but maybe consider an editorial point in the template about this.

 

Regards

 

David

[rdpearsonuk]

Hello to anyone reading this thread - thanks for looking.

 

I haven't had any updates for a while but I have a major one now.

 

I was claiming back £2400 from the bank (Lloyds) and have sent both my first letter and the letter before action. The deadline by which I was to file a claim passed at the end of November and I had heard nothing from the bank. unfortunately I had no spare cash to file the claim so ended up just leaving it, thinking I would file it later when I had the money.

 

Today the bank have written to me completely out of the blue to tell me that they will be putting £760 into my bank in the next couple of days as a part refund of charges.

 

I now have a problem. I get married in January and this £760 will come in very, very handy. In fact I couldn't do without it. If I accept this I will have no chance to get my hand on the rest will I? Even though they don't appear to be giving me a choice whether to accept or not.

 

Should I stick to my guns and hold out for the rest? Can I take this £760, use some of it to pay the court fees and then put a claim in for the remaining balance?

 

Any advice, as usual, welcomed.

 

David:confused:

[BARTY]

Hi David

There is some info here about a partial settlement:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/25716-rejection-settlement-offer.html

 

Hope that helps.

Good luck!

Barty:)

[rdpearsonuk]

Just thought I'd clear up what I believe to be an important point. This letter they have sent specifically says it is a gesture of good will and that this is a cost they would incure if I took my claim further. They seem to have missed a trick here because there is not mention of it being a settlement, no mention of any conditions, not mention of this being a conclusion to my claim - nothing.

 

So as far as I am concerned, and it seems others are doing it too, I will let them pay this money into my account in time for Christmas and write them a lovely festive letter thanking them for their partial refund and politely tell them that unless they cough up the rest I will continue with legal proceedings (which I haven't even started yet).

 

Having read a few recent posts about Lloyds it seems they are using the Christmas cash shortage as a way to "breal" people. They seem to have sent out a number of goodwill gestures just in time for Christmas and it seems to me like a clever tactic that may end a number of peoples claims, especially if you are claimg around £1000 as a £750 refund is 75%. However my partial refund is only 31% and that is not acceptable.

 

Anyway, on with my breakfast......

 

BFN

 

David

[livelylad]

Just thought I'd clear up what I believe to be an important point. This letter they have sent specifically says it is a gesture of good will and that this is a cost they would incure if I took my claim further. They seem to have missed a trick here because there is not mention of it being a settlement, no mention of any conditions, not mention of this being a conclusion to my claim - nothing.

 

So as far as I am concerned, and it seems others are doing it too, I will let them pay this money into my account in time for Christmas and write them a lovely festive letter thanking them for their partial refund and politely tell them that unless they cough up the rest I will continue with legal proceedings (which I haven't even started yet).

 

Having read a few recent posts about Lloyds it seems they are using the Christmas cash shortage as a way to "breal" people. They seem to have sent out a number of goodwill gestures just in time for Christmas and it seems to me like a clever tactic that may end a number of peoples claims, especially if you are claimg around £1000 as a £750 refund is 75%. However my partial refund is only 31% and that is not acceptable.

 

Anyway, on with my breakfast......

 

BFN

 

David

 

 

It is a nasty trick the banks are playing at the moment. You are right tostick to your guns and reclaim all of what is yours.

[rdpearsonuk]

Just though I would show everyon the letter telling me they were giving me a gesture of goodwill:

 

Dear Mr Pearson

Thank you for getting in touch with us again. I am sorry you are still unhappy about your account charges.

 

We’ve already explained that we believe it is fair to charge you for extra services you’ve requested, as long as you know about the charges in advance. When you didn’t have enough in your account to cover a payment you’d asked us to make, we had to agree to make it by setting up or increasing your overdraft, or tell you we couldn’t agree it. We feet its only fair to charge for our services in considering and implementing this.

It’s easy to keep a running check on how much is in your account. You can get an up- to-date balance at any of our cash machines, over the phone, on line and by weekly text to your mobile.

 

If you know a payment is going to take you over the limit we’ve agreed, you’re welcome to see if we can raise it — and we can usually give you an answer straight away. Again we can do that for you by phone, on line or at any of our branches. There’s no charge at all for this.

 

Generally we don’t agree to adjust any of these charges, but I can tell you that on this occasion we are prepared to reduce the charges by repaying you £750. You may have read that we and the other banks are discussing overdraft charges with the Office of Fair Trading. Meanwhile we do consider each customers position individually, and we are making you this offer as a gesture of goodwill because we might face that cost in dealing with your complaint if you took it any further.

 

I need to let you know that this does not mean we consider we have any legal obligation to do so. This sum will be credited to your account in the next few days.

 

As I’ve explained, these charges are avoidable and we would strongly urge you to keep within the limit you’ve agreed with us or to ask us now to see if we could increase it for you.

 

This letter is the bank’s final response, which means that if you remain dissatisfied you may refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. If you decide to pursue your complaint through the Financial Ombudsman Service you must do so within 6 months from the date of this letter. I have enclosed their leaflet that outlines how to contact them.

 

Anyway - I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

 

David

[livelylad]

Dear Mr Pearson

Thank you for getting in touch with us again. I am sorry you are still unhappy about your account charges.

 

We’ve already explained that we believe it is fair to charge you for extra services you’ve requested, as long as you know about the charges in advance. When you didn’t have enough in your account to cover a payment you’d asked us to make, we had to agree to make it by setting up or increasing your overdraft, or tell you we couldn’t agree it. We feet its only fair to charge for our services in considering and implementing this.

It’s easy to keep a running check on how much is in your account. You can get an up- to-date balance at any of our cash machines, over the phone, on line and by weekly text to your mobile.

 

If you know a payment is going to take you over the limit we’ve agreed, you’re welcome to see if we can raise it — and we can usually give you an answer straight away. Again we can do that for you by phone, on line or at any of our branches. There’s no charge at all for this.

 

Generally we don’t agree to adjust any of these charges, but I can tell you that on this occasion we are prepared to reduce the charges by repaying you £750. You may have read that we and the other banks are discussing overdraft charges with the Office of Fair Trading. Meanwhile we do consider each customers position individually, and we are making you this offer as a gesture of goodwill because we might face that cost in dealing with your complaint if you took it any further.

 

I need to let you know that this does not mean we consider we have any legal obligation to do so. This sum will be credited to your account in the next few days.

 

As I’ve explained, these charges are avoidable and we would strongly urge you to keep within the limit you’ve agreed with us or to ask us now to see if we could increase it for you.

 

This letter is the bank’s final response, which means that if you remain dissatisfied you may refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. If you decide to pursue your complaint through the Financial Ombudsman Service you must do so within 6 months from the date of this letter. I have enclosed their leaflet that outlines how to contact them.

 

 

 

Blah blah blah blah blah. Muppets.

 

Just stick to your gons mate.

[rdpearsonuk]

I have now got over the worst of the festive period and written a short reply to my bank in reponse to the £750 they deposited in my account. Here it is...

 

"Thank you for your letter (dated 19/12/06) which I received on 21st December 2006. Thank you also for the £750 repayment of penalty charges to my account; I will accept this as a partial refund of the money that you owe me. However, I will continue to pursue the remaining balance of £1,575 and an amended version of the Scheduled of Charges is enclosed for youR information.

I do not want to have to take this matter further if it can be avoided as I believe it would be a waste of time and money for both parties. However, I will have no alternative but to take further action if you do not refund the remaining penalty charges that have been applied to my account. I will give you 14 days from the date of this letter to comply with this request, after this period I will file a claim against Lloyds TSB Bank Plc for the full amount plus interest plus my costs and without further notice.

Furthermore, I shall write to the Financial Ombudsman Service and the OFT with regards to this complaint."

So we will see what they have to say about that won't we!

 

Happy New Year to one and all!!!!!!

 

Dave

[graham.lane]

Hi Dave,I've been reading your thread with great interest as I am at the same point as you with a nearly identical amount in dispute.With your pemission, I will rip off your latest letter to Lloyds and send it today,regards,Gra